SC09-386 – Anthony E. Smith v. State of Florida

State: Florida

Docket No: SC09-386

Case Date: 03/17/2011

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
____________ No. SC09-386 ____________ ANTHONY E. SMITH, Petitioner, vs. STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. [March 17, 2011] CORRECTED OPINION PARIENTE, J. The issue in this case is whether a trial court can deny a party the right to exercise a peremptory strike against a juror where the record does not establish that the juror was a member of a protected class. The decision of the Third District Court of Appeal in Smith v. State, 1 So. 3d 352 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009), is in express and direct conflict with our precedent in State v. Alen, 616 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 1993), which held that a juror`s surname, without more, is insufficient to trigger an inquiry as to whether the strike was exercised in a discriminatory manner.1 The 1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V,

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